Huge, disturbing, and not as reassuring as the figure of Christ should be. It is the Signorù, an imposing statue over two metres tall that has terrified generations of children in the valley, ended up underground and then exhumed and today is the symbol of the Bianzano Sanctuary, from which it reaches the church of San Rocco in procession every year. But it is not the only mysterious element.
They call it Signorù in the Bergamo dialect, which means “Il Signorone”. A statue from the early 20th century carved from a single piece of wood depicting Jesus stands in the niche of the church of Santa Maria Assunta built in 1234. According to legend, Christ – who at the time had his arms extended – so frightened the faithful by his incumbency that it was decided to detach his arms and bury him.
This gesture, as strange as it was sacrilegious, generated a chain of misfortunes and natural disasters that befell the village according to the inhabitants. To break the chain of tragedies, the “body” was exhumed and its arms were reattached, straight down the trunk and no longer spread wide. Today, devotion to the statue is total, and every year the Signorù is carried in procession through the village.
The church, on the other hand, is a building that, according to unconfirmed sources, may have been frequented by Templars, whose traces seem to lead to various points in the village, including the castle that stands on a terrace overlooking the valley and lake, not far from the centre of Bianzano.
Offering information on the ancient name of the village, is the slab, perhaps used as a tombstone, found in the Church of the Assumption, where the word “Bienciano” is carved, from which the current name evolved. Other tombstones surround this church, including a very rare circular one, testifying to a change in the function of this church, which started as a parish church and was transformed later into a cemetery following the construction of the nearby Church of San Rocco. Not to be missed inside is the altar created by the Fantoni family of sculptors and carvers from Bergamo: take a close look at it if you dare to walk past the statue of Signorù!
DETAILS OF INTEREST:
– The large wooden statue of the Deposition of Christ known as “Signorù”
– The splendid wooden ciborium by Andrea Fantoni (18th century)
VISITING INFORMATION:
– The Sanctuary is open to the public only on request and according to the opening schedule displayed by the municipality of Bianzano;
– It is possible to book group visits for at least 10 people on other dates than those scheduled;
– Duration of the visit: around 20 minutes;
– Parking: Yes.
Promotional material provided by the cultural and tourist association Associazione culturale e turistica Pro Bianzano.
